Starmie is a violet sea star-like Pokémon with a gold formation on its front. Starmie's jewel core, which can glow in seven colors, has developed to resemble a cut precious stone. A second set of semi-attached arms have from, and are able to spin 360°. Starmie can emit electrical waves from the core that are powerful enough to reach the furthest parts of the universe. It can sometimes launch itself out of the water and fly through the air for short periods, as seen in Pokémon Snap.
The multi-color glowing of its core is also believed to be a method of communication inside the species. Starmie’s core is most commonly seen as red in color, which may be a relaxed or dormant signal as according to the Starmie communication system. As seen in the anime, the core will go dark if Starmie is knocked unconscious, and will sometimes flicker if Starmie is low on health. Because of its body shape and habit of sending transmissions skyward, some people believe this Pokémon to be extraterrestrial. Starmie is rarely seen in the wild, but can be found in the deepest parts of the ocean.
Rudy's Starmie also appears in the manga adaptation. Like in the anime, Starmie battled Ash's Squirtle, and gave the Tiny Turtle Pokémon trouble with its Thunderbolt attack.
Misty sent out her Starmie for Satoshi's second Gym battle challenge. However, it could not battle as Satoshi had trouble dealing with water and the battle was officially called off.
When released from a Poké Ball, Starmie floats to the closest opponent and barrages them with Swift. Each hit does 3% damage, and touching Starmie itself does 12% damage.
Game data
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation I.
Starmie's center section - the core - glows brightly in seven colors. Because of its luminous nature, this Pokémon has been given the nickname "the gem of the sea."
Starmie swims through water by spinning its star-shaped body as if it were a propeller on a ship. The core at the center of this Pokémon's body glows in seven colors.
Despite being a genderless Pokémon, Starmie and Staryu were still able to learn Egg moves in Gold and Silver. This was fixed in Crystal where they could no longer breed with any Pokémon except Ditto.
Also, they are able to learn Attract in Generation II only, along with Mew. Starmie is genderless, so it cannot learn Attract.
Origin
It appears to be a stylized seastar, with a second set of arms on its back similar to a crown of thorns starfish. Starmie also bears resemblance to the Mesopotamian goddess Inanna's iconography. The Pokedex entries suggest a starry origin for these creatures. This and it's dual psychic/water typing makes them possibly a reference to old comic book stories of mind controlling starfish invaders from space.
Name origin
Starmie is derived from star (referring to its shape) and mie, which involves 珠 mi (gem or jewel), referring to its core. In English, Mie is considered a corruption of me (the personal pronoun), in opposition to the yu (you) in Staryu. This pun is not present in their Japanese names; while Starmie shares its name in both languages, Staryu's Japanese name is Hitodeman (roughly "starfish man").
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.